Buggy-top brace.



PATENTED Mums, 1905.

P. W. & D. D. MOYER.

BUGGY TOP BEACH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19.1904.

58. INVENTORS P67 7977. Mayer DQCEID. JTOJIC ATTORNEYS buggy-top 5.

' UNITED STATES Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OEEIcE.

PERRY 1V. MOYER AND DOCTOR D. MOYER, OF LURAY, VIRGINIA,

ASSIGNORS TO THE MOYER BUGGY CORPORATION, OF LURAY,

VIRGINIA.

BUGGY-TOP BRACE.

-SPECIISICA'IION forming part of Letters Patent'No. 786,139, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed August 19, 1904. Serial No. 221,357.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, PERRY W. MOYER and DOCTOR D. MOYER, citizens of the United States, residing at Luray, in the county of Page and State of Virginia, have made an Improvement in Buggy-Top Braces, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention is an improved means for supporting a buggy-top when raised and holding it down when thrown back or folded. this we employ a rock-shaft, which is arranged horizontally on the back of the buggy-seat and provided at its ends with jointed braces, pivotally connected with the buggy-top and centrally with the lug,upon which a stiff spring is adapted to bear for preventing rotation of the shaft when the buggy-top is adjusted in either of the two positions stated.

The invention is embodied in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View illustrating a buggy body and top provided with ,our improved attachment, the top being shown in the lowered position. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same parts, the top being shown raised. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-section of the buggy seat-back and the portion of our attachment applied thereto.

A rock-shaft 1 is arranged horizontally on the seat-back 2, near the top thereof and on its front side. It is supported in suitable keepers or bearings 3 and provided at its ends with right-angular extensions 4, which are jointed at the middle and pivotally connected with the The said extensions are in the nature of braces, and the joints 6 thereof are constructed with shoulders in the manner of the well-known rule-joint, which is a common feature of such braces. The extensions or lever-arms are thus practically jointed braces composed of two parts 4 and 4c, the upper member being pivotally connected with the carriage-top 5 and at its inner end with the lever-arms 4:.

At its middle the rock-shaft 1 is provided For with a radial lug 7, and a plate-spring 8 is attached to the seat-back 2 and its free end ar- V The upper end of the spring 8 is bent slightly outward from the seat-back. The lug is so located on the shaft 1 that when the jointed braces 4L 4 are. raised to a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2.. the lug projects upward from the shaft at an angle of about forty-live degrees. Thus the spring bears on the lug in such manner and exerts such leverage that the jointed brace is supported or held with its members vertical and in alinement, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the top 5 is practically locked in the raised position; yet by applying due pressure to the joints 6 of the braces i 4: they may be broken, so that the top 5 may be lowered or folded. In other words, while the pressure of the spring 8 on the lug of shaft 7 is suificient to hold the brace looked under ordinary conditions of use the tension of the spring may be overcome without difficulty by the occupant of the carriage upon applyinga certain amount of force or pressure to the joint 6. As shown in Fig. 1, the braces 4: 4L serve to hold the top 5 down or in the folded position.

It will be apparent that since the arms I are rigidly connected with the rock-shaft 1 the breaking of the joint 6 on one side has a like effect on the other, since both arms 4: must move together. Thus the occupant of the carriage may raise or lower the top 5 without the necessity of breaking a brace on both sides of the top, as usual in carriages provided with braces which are disconnected orindependent of each other.

As shown in Fig. 3,the rock-shaft and spring, with their attachments, are covered, concealed, and protected by the upholstering 11, and while the spring may be arranged near the end of the seat-back 2 and while two of them may be employed,'if desired, in place of one it is preferred to locate the spring in the middle of the back, since ordinarily less pressure is ap' plied to the back at that point than to the end portions, and hence the upholstering will be subjected to less wear on the under side.

-What we claim is 1. The combination, with a vehicle seatback and a folding top applied to the seat, of a support for said top which comprises a rockshaft journaled on the seat-back and having lever-arms secured to its ends and braces forming extensions thereof and pivotally connected with the top at one end and bya rule-joint witlr the lever-arms at the other end, and means applied to the rock-shaft for holding it in either of the two positions assumed when the top is raised or lowered, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a vehicle seatback and a folding top, a rock-shaft journalcd on the seat-back and having a lug as specified, and jointed arms connected with the top, of a spring arranged to bear on said lug and thus practically to lock the shaft in position for holding the top elevated or folded.

3. The combination, with a vehicle-top and a support arranged on the body thereof, of means for supporting and practically locking the top, the same comprising a rock-shaft journaled on the said support and jointed braces which are pivotally connected with the top and rigidly connected with the rock-shaft, and a spring attached to the support and engaging the rock-shaft for looking it as described.

4. The combination with a folding top and the rigid vehicle seat-back, of a rock-shaft journaled on the back and having a lug projecting from its front side and jointed braces connecting it with the top as described, of a plate-spring secured at its lower end to the seat-back, its free end bearing upon the aforesaid lug and means arranged intermediately of the ends of the spring for varying the tension of the latter substantially as described.

5. The combination with a support on the body of the vehicle and a pivoted top adapted to be lowered, of a rock-shaft journaled on said support, and having rigid arms and extensions thereof connected with the arms by a rule-joint and pivotally connected with the top, substantially as described.

PERRY W. MOYER. DOCTOR D. MOYER. \Vitnesses:

FRANK E. STOVER, L. F. BERRY. 

